Growth opportunities for silica sand and quartz are attracting increasing attention, and this is nowhere better exemplified than in Saudi Arabia. The sand-abundant country has made no secret of its strategy in diversifying into natural resources other than oil and gas, i.e. mining. And its drive to also establish high-tech downstream manufacturing industries chimes neatly with market demand for high quality grades of silica in high-tech applications such as in electronics and the photovoltaic sectors. To this end, the Saudi Geological Survey organised Silica Arabia 2012, a very successful conference which took place March 2012 in Jeddah, bringing together around 100 leading lights in the world of silica and high purity quartz supply, processing and consumption.
